Crystalline
by E.V. North
Summary: The Storm Hawks must face Master Cyclonis' new pet project. Will it prove to be too much for them, or will they find a new ally?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks and all characters associated with the cartoon show are the property of Nerd Corp. However, Hikaru and Mikomi are my property. You are free to use them, just use a disclaimer. Happy reading.

E.V. North

**Crystalline Slave**

Master Cyclonis, Empress of Cyclonia, paced the floor of her throne room like a jungle cat. She stared with calculating eyes out the great window behind the throne at the panoramic view of her stormy kingdom.

Behind her dispassionate, violet eyes a sadistic excitement stirred. She had sent for her most capable warrior, Dark Ace, no more than an hour ago and her guard had just informed her that he had pulled up to the docks already. A record time to be sure.

The clank of her guards coming to attention indicated that Dark Ace had entered, but she did not turn from the window.

"Master." A smooth voice said from behind her "You sent for me on the priority one frequency. What would you have of me?" She finally turned from the rolling storm clouds to look at him. Dark Ace knelt on one knee on the floor a respectful distance away.

"Excellent work getting to me so quickly." She said coolly "I understand you were dealing with an uprising all the way on Terra Gale." Dark Ace rose from his position on the floor and nodded.

"Yes, I was just tying up some…loose ends when you called. I left the clean-up to Ravess." As he spoke a little grin crossed his lips at the words 'loose ends'.

"Good. It should be taken care of by morning then. Tell Ravess to contact me as soon as she is done. Now-"She strode past Dark Ace toward the door, motioning for him to follow. "- to the business at hand."

They walked through the corridors of Castle Cyclonia together. The Talons they passed stood at attention along the hallways until they were out of sight.

"Why are the Storm Hawks still underfoot, Dark Ace?" Master Cyclonis asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"Master?" Dark Ace asked, confused. "I don't think I understand what you mean. I thought you had called me back to give me an order."

"I am, but I want you to understand something. Let me rephrase the question. Why are you and my best Talons defeated over and over by children?

Dark Ace paled as his mind raced for a response that would not get him too badly punished. After all, he had no satisfactory excuse.

"I… the Talons are…"

Cyclonis smiled icily at the sight of the grown man sweating. She could hear the gears in his mind grinding from here.

"I have noticed an interesting trend in the intelligence reports gathered from the fights with the Storm Hawks." Master Cyclonis said, cutting across Dark Ace's nervous stammering. Dark Ace sighed deeply and looked at his master, waiting for her to continue. "Yes, very interesting indeed." She went on, "Never once, in all of our dealings with them have they caused a single fatality." She took a left down the hallway and unlocked a heavy steel door and proceeded down a set of stairs. Green crystals flared into life as she passed, lighting their way. "In fact," she said "I heard that they even went out of their way to save a Talon whose shoot had malfunctioned."

"Yes, that's all true, but what does that have to do with us?" Dark Ace asked, wishing she would get to the point.

"Impatient as ever." She hissed, coming to the bottom of the stairs. "Very well, I will spell it out for you. It means that the Storm Hawks have a large weakness that is ready to be exploited."

"How?" Dark Ace asked. He couldn't stop the predatory excitement from showing on his face.

Master Cylonis smiled at his enthusiasm and unlocked the door at the bottom of the stairs. With a wave of her hand the room beyond lit up with blue crystals set into brackets circling the walls. In the center of the surprisingly small room sat an iron cage, and in the cage sat a human boy.

By Dark Ace's guess he couldn't have been any older than Aerrow, 13 or 14 at the most. He had a strange, exotic look to him. His eyes were almond shaped and a little slanted. His hair was long, black and tied into a braid running down his back. It was streaked with white where it had grown through scar tissue. His clothes brought to mind old legends of a mythical place he had read about once called China. They were made of blue silk with long spacious sleeves and long legged pants. A large crystal sparkled at his neck, and a pair of glasses glinted from his nose in the blue light of the crystals. He squatted in the cage, with not enough room to either stand or lay down. He did not even blink when the lights came on. By Dark Ace's standard he was pretty, but not too impressive.

"THIS skinny boy is how we will defeat the Storm Hawks?" He asked with an irritated edge to his voice.

"Yes, actually. He is my new toy. I've had to 'modify' him a bit. I've been working on him for the better part of two months now. Watch." She pulled a red gem the size of a chicken egg out of her pocket and clutched it tightly in her hand. She brought it to her mouth like a radio and spoke into the crystal.

"Hikaru, look at me." The red crystal pulsed with light in time with the sound of her voice. This red pulsing was echoed by two flat, oval-shaped crystals attached to the boy's temples. His half-closed eyes snapped open and he stared up at her from over his glasses. He had eyes the color of a storm cloud.

Master Cyclonis grinned. "His name is Hikaru. He has no will of his own thanks to the slave crown he is wearing. He won't even sleep unless someone tells him to." She went to his cage and unlocked the door. The boy made no move toward it; he only continued to obediently stare. She stepped back, brought the crystal to her mouth again and said "Come to me." At once he crawled out of the cage and walked quickly toward her. Once there he stood, hands hanging at his sides, waiting.

Cyclonis took a heavy steel collar and chain from a hook near the door and attached it to his neck above the fist-sized, dormant crystal on his neck. Hikaru stiffened at her touch and blinked. Seeing this tiny reaction, Cylonis squeezed the red gem tighter in her hand and he instantly relaxed. She handed Dark Ace the end of the chain, and held the red control gem in front of his face.

"I want you to take him for a trial run. He may look weak, but I assure you, he has a few surprises in him. This will be a test of both his power and the slave crown." She tapped one of the flat crystals on his head roughly. "Be warned, if he is captured and taken too far from the control gem, the slave crown will overload his nervous system so he cannot be used against us."

"Thank you for this opportunity Master," Dark Ace said, bowing and taking the control gem from her outstretched hand "but what does all this have to do with the Storm Hawks never killing our soldiers?"

"Because, if they wish to save themselves," she put a hand on Hikaru's shoulder "than they will have no choice, but to kill him, and I don't think they have it in them."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks and all characters associated with the cartoon show are the property of Nerd Corp. However, Hikaru and Mikomi are my property. You are free to use them, just use a disclaimer. Happy reading.

E.V. North

Stork stood in front of the controls of the Condor, listening to the hum of the engines and the soft beeps of the instruments. Unfortunately, he was also listening to Finn recount his 'heroic deeds' on Terra Vapos.

"And then there was that one time when you sprayed those Murk-losers in the face with that disease book! Oh…classic." Finn laughed, wiping a tear from his eye and slapping Stork on the back.

"The book was One Thousand Horrible Afflictions and that was Yeti repellent." Stork turned to look at Finn, brushing his hand off in an irritated sort of way. "And yeah…it was pretty good." He turned back to the controls with a small smile. One of the sensors was pinging loudly.

"Wasn't that when I was getting my teeth fixed?" Junko asked, looking up from a shiny bit of scrap metal he was polishing happily. "I wish I could have been there."

"Aren't you allergic to Murk Raiders?" Piper asked from across the table.

"Oh, yeah." The wallop said, looking thoughtful. He shrugged and went back to his polishing. The loud pinging of the sensor continued. Stork glanced over at the sensor console and then back at the helm.

"Geez Stork, what IS that noise. I can't concentrate on my story." Finn whined, placing his hands on his hips.

"It's the long-range scanner. It's picked something up, but I can't leave the helm with this strong cross breeze…unless you _want _to be splattered into the wastelands." The merb said, a slight hint of manic glee in his voice. Finn winced.

"Here," Aerrow offered, striding across the deck, Radarr on his shoulder. "I'll look." He leaned over the console and peered at the circular screen with interest. He twisted the volume knob and the pinging died.

"It looks like a lot of skimmer activity about 450 clicks away." He said as Piper came over to have a look too.

"Hmm…" Piper mused "Those look like they could be Cyclonian crystal converter signatures." She went over to the map she had spread out on the table and traced her finger across the surface of the paper. "450 clicks, north East…thaaats…Terra Xoam." She concluded brightly.

"Wasn't that the jungley place with the ruins?" Junko asked.

"The Forbidden City, yes." Piper answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Are we going? 'Cause I'm all out of gloopy fruit." The wallop said, licking his lips. Finn made a barfing motion behind his big friend's back.

"If the Cyclonians are involved than we had better see what they're up to." Aerrow said, a frown on his face. "Stork-"he looked to the merb.

"I know, I know." Stork said as he turned the ship north east and pulled the throttle. "This is going to end badly, I can tell."

An hour and a half later Stork snuck the Condor under an outcropping of rock off the edge of Terra Xoam. He pulled a lever to his right and the Condor's grappling hooks shot out and dug into the rock, 

suspending them in their hiding spot. Once he was sure they were secure he turned and gave the thumbs up for Aerrow to proceed.

"Piper." He said, turning to his team "You, me and Radarr will do a little recon and see what's going on. The rest of you, stay here and keep quiet. We'll signal if we need you, alright?"

"No problemo dude." Finn said, his idea of a winning smile on his face "We got this covered." Junko nodded his agreement enthusiastically while Stork rolled his eyes and sighed. He grabbed one of his books from the table and sat himself down.

Piper and Aerrow could see the Skimmers they had detected as soon as they got above the tree line. What they had thought was lots of activity was only three skimmers. However, they were clearly Cyclonian. They were wheeling and looping in a pattern above what looked like a clearing. Occasionally, one of them would use a nitro crystal and leave orange streaks behind them in the air.

"I don't like this." Aerrow said, glaring at the skimmers "Come on, we need to get below the trees or they'll spot us." They came in low and transformed, Aerrow on his motor bike and Piper on her scooter.

"I don't like this either. They're just wasting their crystal fuel and they're not even trying to be subtle. This could be a trap." Piper said as she sped up to a level with Aerrow. Aerrow looked concerned, but rode on. Trap or not, they had to put a stop to whatever the Cyclonians were up to,

They left Radarr and their rides a good distance from the clearing and crept the rest of the way through the brush. The buzz of the wheeling skimmers got louder and, as they settled down behind a fallen log, peepers in hand, they heard a voice in the clearing.

Dark Ace was sitting on a boulder. In one hand he twirled his sword idly; in the other he held the end of a heavy chain. This chain was attached like a leash to the neck of a boy who looked to be their own age. Piper covered her mouth in disbelief. How could the Cyclonians be that cruel to kids? Aerrow put a comforting hand on her shoulder and glared through his peepers at the scene.

"Blasted brats are never here when I want them." Dark Ace grumbled to the boy and tugged on his chain. He stumbled forward a few steps, but didn't complain. "I'd much rather face them myself…"

"Sir," a Talon hurried up and saluted. He took a look at the boy's glazed eyes and took a step away from him. "The bait reports that they're almost out of nitro crystals."

"Then let them run out. This is getting us nowhere. Keep flying, but forget the Nitros." Dark Ace stuck his sword angrily into the ground. The Talon flinched, but the boy remained still. He glanced from the Talon to the boy and a grin spread across his face.

"I know," He said "let's have a little fun." He reached into his pocket with his now free hand and pulled out a red crystal the size of a chicken egg.

"Hikaru," he barked into the crystal. The boy's eyes snapped onto Dark Ace. "Jump up and down." The boy immediately began to hop in place. Piper gasped, but clamped a hand to her mouth to avoid being heard.

"We have to stop this Aerrow." She whispered "He's being controlled."

"I know, I'm thinking." He replied

"Now dance." Dark Ace grinned as the boy went into a graceful dance that would clearly look better with a couple of fans. The Talon laughed aloud at the effeminate display. All the while Hikaru's eyes remained locked on Dark Ace, staring.

"Stop it!" Dark Ace yelled, making both the Talon and Piper jump. Hikaru immediately stopped his dance. His hands fell to his sides as he continued to stare at Dark Ace, waiting…

"Stop staring at me you little freak!" Hikaru's eyes closed as Dark Ace tugged the chain hard enough for the boy to fall right on his face. He lay motionless, waiting for the command to get up.

"Get up and dust yourself off." Dark Ace growled, settling back down on his rock and resting his hand on the red crystal in the hilt of his sword. The boy sprung back up and brushed the dirt from the blue silk of his long sleeves. His glasses had been knocked off, but his eyes were still closed. A bit of blood dribbled down his cheek from a cut on his forehead. The Talon crammed the glassed back onto the boy's nose. Hikaru turned his face to Dark Ace again, though it was clear he couldn't stare through closed eyes.

"Humph… the staring must be an effect of the slave crown." Dark Ace mused as he examined the control gem. "Open your eyes already." Hikaru's eyes snapped open once more and resumed their staring.

"Oh, knock it off." Dark Ace growled at the boy. Fast as lightning Hikaru had crouched low, deflected Dark Ace's hand from its resting place on the pommel of his sword and knocked the red striker crystal clean off the end of the hilt all in one fluid motion. Dark Ace's jaw dropped in shock as Hikaru stood up swiftly and continued his deadpan staring. He stood up and grabbed the slave by the front of his shirt and then released him, realizing intimidation to be worthless.

Aerrow barely stifled a laugh. That was what he had told him to do after all. What a moron.

Dark Ace handed the chain to the dumfounded Talon. "Go and amuse yourself until I need you." He commanded the boy. Hikaru cocked his head to one side as though thinking about how best to accomplish this then set off at a quick pace toward a pebble-lined lake shore nearby.

Aerrow motioned that he would stay with Dark Ace and that she should trail Hikaru. She nodded and followed the boy and the Talon through the undergrowth and watched as they stopped at the edge of the water. Was he going to swim? She didn't know. The Talon watched the skimmers above as the boy crouched down and began to stack flat skipping pebbles, one on top of the next, until he had a neat little pebble pyramid. The Talon glanced at the boy and rolled his eyes. He went back to watching the skimmers. Piper watched the boy called Hikaru with interest; even in his mind-controlled state this small action was rather adorable. Once finished, Hikaru stared at his tiny tower. He appeared to be concentrating. Piper heard a low bass thrum come from where the boy crouched and the pebbles lifted into the air an inch and fired themselves across the surface of the water, skipping several times before they sank.

Piper's eyes widened. The Talon hadn't noticed. Hikaru was busy on his second pebble pyramid when a crash was heard and Dark Ace came storming up to the pair. The Talon with the chain looked around, but Hikaru continued with his work. Aerrow dropped down quietly next to Piper. He was panting hard and looked worried.

"One of the skimmers ran out of fuel and crashed. Dark Ace's ride is completely destroyed. He's pissed and I think he's going to take it out on that slave." They turned back in time to see Dark Ace seize the leash from the Talon and lift Hikaru clear off his feet. He looked livid. "This is all your fault! I wouldn't have to out on this miserable Terra if it wasn't for you. I could have gone to find the Storm Hawks on my own if it wasn't for YOU!" He bellowed. As Hikaru began to turn blue, his feet started to kick slightly. A look of fear crept into his eyes as the trace of a thought fluttered through his mind.

"I don't want to die."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks and all characters associated with the cartoon show are the property of Nerd Corp. However, Hikaru and Mikomi are my property. You are free to use them, just use a disclaimer. Happy reading.

By the way, thanks to all the wonderful people who have reviewed me so far. Your criticism and praise are incredibly encouraging. I really appreciate it. It all helps.

E.V. North

Aerrow could see the boy turning blue from his place in the bushes. There was no more time to try to think of a plan. He had to act _now._

"Piper, radio the Condor for backup." He whipped his twin blades from their places on his back. "We're stopping this NOW." Piper nodded as Aerrow's swords blazed into life and he rushed from their leafy hiding place.

Dark Ace turned at the noise of running footsteps and humming lightning crystals, instinctively bringing his blade up to block. Aerrow took advantage of Dark Ace's occupied sword and brought the other down on the length of chain binding the boy to his captor's fist.

The chain shattered and Hikaru fell on to the pebbly shore gasping. He struggled to his feet, breathing hard. He had broken into a sweat and the pained look in his eyes told of a fight in his mind. His eyebrows creased with inner conflict. If he didn't still look so deadpan he might have been panicking.

The Talon who had been holding Hikaru's chain before finally seemed to come to himself. He raised is staff above his head and fired three shots into the air, signaling the other skimmers. He then leveled his staff at Hikaru, not sure if the loss of the leash would mean loss of control of the boy. But Hikaru didn't move. He continued to stare at Dark Ace, panting like a winded animal. The Talon looked up from the boy as Piper rushed past him with a scream and dealt him a blow from the side. He stumbled, but regained his footing, and turned his attention to the more hostile target.

As Piper and the Talon squared off with their staffs, the battle between Aerrow and Dark Ace continued back and forth. The loose rocks and slippery moss that covered the lake shore made footwork difficult and dangerous for both.

"I never thought Cyclonia would stoop as low as using kids as slaves!" Aerrow yelled swinging high with one blade. Dark Ace brought his sword down to smash through Aerrow's defenses.

"He is no longer a kid. He is property, a weapon of the Cyclonian Empire." Dark Ace growled back. Their blades ground against one another, locked together. Sparks flew from the clashing energies and fizzled in the damp moss below. Aerrow was about to respond when crystal fire from above forced him to jump back. The Cyclonian skimmers had joined the fray. They flew overhead, firing at Aerrow and Piper. This looked bad. Where was the Condor?

The skimmers wheeled around for another pass. Aerrow could see the charges building in their crystals. He dived out of the way just in time. He felt the heat of a crystal bolt whiz past his side as he dodged, and rolled further as Dark Ace brought his sword down where his head had been moments before. He was working just to defend himself, let alone win, and it looked like Piper was fairing no better under the suppressive fire.

A blaring horn and the sound of more skimmers made the combatants on the ground look up. The Condor, flanked by Finn and Junko on their skimmers soared into sight above the canopy. The airborne Storm Hawks made quick work of the Cyclonian skimmers. Finn bulls eyed the engine of one, sending it careening into the lake with a huge splash. Junko was slightly more creative, flying alongside the other skimmer. The Cyclonian troop looked over in confusion. Junko gave a friendly wave and tore one of the wings off the side of the Cyclonian skimmer with his bare hands. The unbalanced skimmer spiraled out of control into the forest. A crash was heard quite a ways off.

"I think it's time to test Master Cyclonis' new toy." Dark Ace said, drawing Aerrow's attention back to him. He raised the red control gem to his mouth like a radio and hissed. "Hikaru, take the Storm Hawks out." The flat crystals on the deadpan boy's temples flashed and Hikaru, who had been staring intently at Dark Ace through the entire battle, immediately sprang into action.

He turned his attention first to Finn and Junko. He planted his feet and faced the circling skimmers. Finn was in the process of giving Junko a sky-five when Hikaru reached his hand out to him, as though he

meant to grab him; and his hand _did _grab something. His fingers closed around something invisible and Finn froze in the middle of the sky-five. His eyes widened as he realized that he couldn't move. Something was holding him.

"Finn?" Junko looked concerned "Are you OK?"

"I-I don't know." Finn stammered "I can't-" But before he could say another word Hikaru made a pulling motion with his outstretched fist and Finn was thrown from the seat of his skimmer, straight into the lake 40 feet below. Without a rider, Finn's skimmer nose-dived into the lake farther away.

"Finn!" Junko yelled. He had fallen too fast to catch. Finn bobbed to the surface, sputtering and flailing. He started swimming to shore. Junko sighed, what a relief.

Piper stared from Finn, to Hikaru. That was just like what she had seen him do with the pebble tower, but much bigger. The Talon she had been fighting had dropped his guard, completely distracted by the amazing show of power. She took the opportunity and stunned him with a large paralyzer stone set into the end of her staff. She got him right in the head and he froze in place. He wasn't going to be walking around for hours. When she turned back to Hikaru he had reached toward Junko with an identical grabbing motion. Now that she was paying attention she could hear the low thrum she had heard him make earlier.

"Junko!" She shouted "Don't let him get you too!"

"Who?" Junko yelled back confused. As he looked around for who she was talking about, he felt a tug at his mind. It became more insistent and he felt his muscles start to freeze. He overpowered it at flew higher, away from the shore. The tugging ceased, but as it did he could feel his engine stall as it was pulled, nose first, into the lake shallows below. Junko leapt clear and rolled safely onto the shore, just as Finn was climbing out of the water.

The Dark Ace felt cornered. All of the Talons he had brought along were out of commission and his ride was destroyed. The only ally he had was this boy. However, Master Cyclonis had indeed chosen her weapon well. He had singlehandedly grounded two Storm Hawks.

Hikaru stared around at the Storm Hawks on the beach with him. The red-headed one was battling farther away with the gem-holder and the Storm Hawk's carrier ship was landing on a bare stretch of shore some distance away. Before he could choose his next target the dark girl was walking toward him, one hand outstretched comfortingly.

"It's alright," Piper said soothingly "We want to help you. We won't hurt you." She put a hand on his shoulder and she felt the taunt muscles under his silk tunic relax slightly. A flicker of sadness crept into the exotic eyes behind the glasses. The boy looked like he was struggling with something.

"Careful." Junko cautioned as Finn nodded vigorously.

Dark Ace glared as he saw this act of disobedience. He knocked Aerrow back a few paces and raised the gem to his mouth once more, squeezing it tightly.

"I gave you an order, fool!" He shouted into the gem "Take them out now, while their guard is down!"

Hikaru stumbled back from Piper, clutching his head and squeezing his eyes shut in pain. Tears rolled down his cheeks as little lightning bolts issued from the flat crystals on his temples and danced across his head. The loud thrum was heard again as Hikaru locked eyes with Piper. She screamed and clutched her head too. The pain was intense but brief. She backed off and the pain instantly stopped. Only a dull, throbbing headache remained.

"Junko," she whispered to the wallop "Go get Stork and tell him to bring his trance helmet. Tell him to put it on its highest setting. Quick." Junko nodded and ran off.

Dark Ace continued to struggle with Aerrow. They were wearing each other out. This wasn't working. He was losing control of the situation. If the experiment was a failure, as it was quickly proving to be, then he had better abandon it before he was humiliated even further.

"Hikaru!" He yelled into the red gem "Attack Aerrow directly." Hikaru snapped back to attention and rushed away from Piper and Finn on the beach toward Aerrow who had his back turned.

"Aerrow! Look out!" both Piper and Finn shouted in unison. As Aerrow looked away from Dark Ace toward the shouts, Dark Ace made a break for it, running toward the edge of the Terra, He tapped his rescue beacon and jumped into the wastelands. The poof of a parachute was heard over the edge of the cliff.

Hikaru bowled Aerrow over, pinning him to the ground. The low thrum was heard again and Aerrows swords went flying, sticking blade-first into a tree. Using one hand to hold Aerrow down, Hikaru brought the other down in a vicious punch to the jaw. The slapping sound of meat packing was heard and he continued to wail on the surprised Skyknight. Something wet hit Aerrow's face. Hikaru still had tears streaking down his face.

"Aerrow!" Piper yelled, running forward with Finn to pull Hikaru off of their leader. Aerrow grabbed Hikaru's hands and held him at bay. Hikaru didn't seem to be very strong, physically. Finn grabbed Hikaru's shoulders and pulled him backward off of Aerrow as Stork and Junko ran up.

"Hold him still!" Stork said, clutching the trance helmet. Junko and Finn held his arms and legs down while Piper helped Aerrow off the ground. His nose was bleeding. The thrumming reached the pitch of a cruiser engine and hundreds of pebbles from the shore levitated and began to pummel the Storm Hawks.

Stork shoved the helmet onto Hikaru's head as he shielded his own from the whirlwind of rocks. He pushed the button and, at first, the helmet seemed to have no effect. However, after a few more seconds of struggling and rock flinging, Hikaru relaxed. His eye's drooped and then closed. The pebbles fell to the ground, forming a ring of gravel around the Storm Hawks.

"What on Atmos is he?!" Finn yelled as the scene finally quieted.

"I don't know yet. I'll need to run some tests, but first things first: we need to get him onto the ship and get those mind-control crystals off his head." Piper sighed as she looked down at their captive. "We might get some answers when he wakes up."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Storm Hawks and all characters associated with the cartoon show are the property of Nerd Corp. However, Hikaru and Mikomi are my property. You are free to use them, just use a disclaimer. Happy reading.

Thanks for the reviews people! I never thought I'd get such a kick out of feedback. Worry not, for I will not hold my story hostage for reviews. On with the show…

E.V. North

"You know, he's kinda cute when he's not trying to kill us." Junko said as the Storm Hawks made their way back to the Condor. He was carrying the unconscious Hikaru in his arms. The trance helmet had skewed his glasses so that they hung crookedly on his nose. Junko reached down and straightened them gently. Hikaru's long braid was flopped like a tail over Junko's arm. It swayed lazily as they walked along the shore.

"Yeah," Finn said, rolling his eyes and massaging a large bruise on his shoulder. "If you like psycho, mind-controlled, mutants."

"For once," Stork started "I agree with Finn. I don't think bringing him onto the ship is a good idea. He's dangerous." He nervously flicked a pebble into the lake with his foot.

"We can't just leave him here." Aerrow said bringing the cloth he had been holding to his nose away from his face to check the bleeding. It seemed to have stopped. They walked up the Condor's flight ramp and entered the hanger bay.

"Stork, get us airborne." Aerrow said "I'm sure a Cyclonian cleanup crew will be along to pick up Dark Ace and the Talons. Once we're a safe distance you can come to the infirmary. Oh, and please radio Radarr to bring in our rides." Stork nodded and walked in the other direction down the hall toward the bridge. Aerrow, Finn, Piper, and Junko, who was still cradling Hikaru in his arms, went the other way.

"Lay him on the examining table, Junko." Piper said, opening a cupboard and rummaging for something. "Don't worry Finn," she said, seeing the look on Finn's face and anticipating his complaint. "I'll fix you, Aerrow and Junko first."

As Piper saw to her friend's injuries the Condor lifted off from the jungle surface of terra Xoam. Radarr had finished retrieving the damaged rides. It sped away from the terra and cruised across the sky. It didn't go too far however. Stork settled the Condor in between two close-set mini-terras off the coast of terra Xoam. Hiding was a safer move than running the risk of an encounter with the Cyclonian rescue team. He glanced nervously at the scanners to check that they had not been followed.

Once the meticulous merb was satisfied that they were relatively safe he deployed the grappling anchors and walked to the infirmary. This whole situation with that human boy bothered him. He would feel better once he was sure that those crystals were removed from his head. And those powers; Stork had never seen anything like them. Was it magic? Was it the crystal on his neck? Was it psychic power? Was it poltergeist flu? Stork didn't know and that made him uneasy.

He knocked on the doorframe as he walked through into the infirmary. Junko looked over and waved. He was sporting a band-aid decorated with little skimmers on his cheek. Finn was holding an icepack to his shoulder and looking grumpy. Piper was in the process of wrapping a bandage around Aerrow's arm as the skyknight wiped blood off his face with a wet cloth.

"Hey Stork." Aerrow tried to wave, but Piper jerked him back.

"Stay still a second." she said. "When I've finished with Aerrow I was going to take the trance helmet off. How long will he stay out after I remove it?" Stork thought for a second, trying to remember the instruction manual.

"At the maximum setting… the wearer will remain in trance for 2 to 6 hours after removal of the helmet depending in the individual resiliency of the wearer's mind." Stork recited, looking from Piper to the unconscious boy and back again. "We should strap him down though." He added.

"Agreed." Aerrow said, flexing his bandaged arm. He and Junko fastened the leather straps attached to the table around the boy's wrists and ankles. Piper was gathering tools onto a tray next to the examining table.

"Ready?" she asked, putting her hands on the helmet and looking around at the rest of them like they were lined up to start a race. The others nodded. Stork flinched. She pulled the helmet off. It clanked against the flat, red crystals on his temples. As Stork had said, he did not wake up. She handed the helmet to Stork who clutched his 'happy place' to his chest like a teddy bear.

"Ok," Piper said, clapping her hands together. "First thing we need to do is see if we can get those crystals off." She took the boy's glasses off and put them on the tray. Next she grabbed the handheld scanner sitting next to the glasses. It hummed happily as she switched it on and ran it over the crystals on Hikaru's head.

"Hmm…"she mused "These seem to be some kind of mixture of hypno crystals and lightning-striker stones. Dark Ace uses a lightning-striker in his sword." She fiddled with a knob on the side of the scanner. "They look like they only function with input from that other stone Dark Ace was talking into."

"Dark Ace was talking to a crystal?" Finn asked, confused.

"Sort of." Aerrow answered. "He was talking into it like a radio. This guy," he indicated the boy, "would do anything Dark Ace told him to when he did." Aerrow looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think Dark Ace called him Hikaru. That must be his name."

Piper continued to look at the little screen in her hand, scribbling on a small notepad as she did. Occasionally she would look at Hikaru, and tilt his head this way and that. She looked more and more concerned the longer she looked.

"I think we may have a problem." She said, her brow furrowed "Take a look." The Storm Hawks all crowded behind her to see the small screen. On the screen was a green, rotating rendering of what looked like a faceted mushroom. Its base came to a cruel looking point.

"What's that, a mushroom?" Finn asked, remembering that he hadn't eaten since that morning.

"More like a nail." Piper answered, sounding grim. "This," she pointed to the flat top of the object "Is the part of the crystal we can see on his head, and this," she ran her finger along the spiked stem "Is the part that is _in_ his head. These crystals penetrate into his skull; the point is only a few millimeters from his brain. Removing these could kill him."

"Not to mention make him a perfect target for mind worms." Stork added, in an attempt to be helpful. The Storm Hawks turned to stare at him. Stork shrugged, grinning sheepishly, then paled and went wide-eyed at something behind his teammates. He pointed and backed up a step. The others wheeled around to look. Hikaru's eyes were open. He appeared to be trying to sit up, but couldn't because of the leather straps. After a few tries he gave up and lay back down, scanning the room with his deadpan stare.

"I thought you said he wouldn't wake up for at least two hours." Piper whispered, taking a step back.

"I did!" Stork squeaked "He should be asleep. I-I don't- I can't explain. Should we put it back on?" He held up the helmet.

"No," Aerrow said, stepping forward "He might be able to tell us what they did to him." He leaned down next to Hikaru, who was still staring around the room, as though memorizing it.

"Hikaru?" Aerrow said gently "Hikaru, how do we get those crystals off your head." Hikaru didn't even acknowledge Aerrow's presence, but stared at each Storm Hawk in turn.

Finn shuddered, "So much for that." Piper seemed lost in thought. Without Dark Ace to give him orders Hikaru seemed harmless, if a bit creepy.

"I've been working on a crystal that disintegrates other crystals. That might get the control crystals out safely, but it's still unstable." She said, looking pensive "Otherwise, we have to take him to a real doctor on Atmosia to take them out surgically."

"I think that doctor plan sounds safest." Aerrow said, as Finn waved a hand in front of Hikaru's eyes. He didn't blink. "Stork, set a course for Atmosia." Stork nodded and shuffled out "Junko, try to fix the damage to the skimmers. Have Radarr help you." Junko smiled and Radarr hopped on his shoulder as he left. "Finn and I can help you here with Hikaru." He continued, addressing Piper this time. Piper smiled as she looked around at her two friends. She felt the Condor lurch out of its hiding place and cruise through the sky. Terra Xoam disappeared behind them.

It wasn't long before Finn had melted all the ice in his icepack and needed to go off to the kitchen to refill it. Aerrow glanced up at Piper who was looking over the notes she had made on the crystals.

"You know," Aerrow started, trying to make conversation. "He sure has strange looking clothes, huh?"

Piper looked from Aerrow to Hikaru, who was staring out the window at the passing clouds and nodded "Yeah, I've never seen anything like them. His eyes are too sharp looking for him to be Atmosian. Pretty color though." Aerrow looked, she was right. They were the color of a blizzicane.

"Maybe the skyknight council will be able to tell us where he's from." Aerrow said, seeing his own reflection in the red crystals on Hikaru's head. They flashed red. Sparks began to fly from them as they had done before on terra Xoam. Hikaru squeezed his eyes shut, apparently in pain.

"What's going on?" Aerrow shouted, rushing to the side of the examining table.

"I don't know!" Piper said desperately, "I think the crystals are electrocuting him!" The red bolts of electricity grew and wreathed his whole head like some kind of crackling halo. Hikaru's back arched and he screamed, struggling to get free of the straps. The examining table shook with the force of his thrashing.

"Piper!" Aerrow yelled, "Get your experimental crystals. We don't have time to get him to Atmosia."

"But I might kill him if I do it wrong." Piper protested. She looked on the verge of frantic tears.

"He'll die if we don't get those crystals off NOW!" Aerrow shouted urgently. Piper nodded and sprinted from the room, narrowly dodging Finn, who had rushed back at all the noise, fresh icepack in hand.

"What's going on?!" He yelled, panic in his voice. "What happened?!"

"Help me hold him still, Finn!" Aerrow yelled, trying to pin the thrashing boy's shoulders down. Finn dived in to help, icepack forgotten. Tears were streaking down Hikaru's face and blood began to trickle from his ears and from under the crystals on his temples. The large, uneven crystal that was tied at his neck like a choker flickered into life, feebly trying to glow yellows and purples.

Piper rushed back into the infirmary, two tiny green crystals clutched in her fists. "Hold his head still!" she shouted, sliding to a stop at the head of the table. The boys tried their best to hold Hikaru's head still. Finn had to grab the boy's jaw to still his shaking enough for Piper to tap the green crystals to the red ones on his head. Immediately, thousands of tiny cracks appeared on the flat red gems. They spread and as they did they seemed to suck the red, malevolent color out. All at once, the flat stones disintegrated and the fragments disappeared. Hikaru stopped screaming and thrashing and flopped back onto the table. Blood flowed freely from the small holes left behind by the crystal spikes. His eyes were closed.

"Is he alive?" Piper asked nervously. There was a tense moment as Finn tried to find a pulse.

"Yeah," Finn said, getting up off the boy. He looked around for where he had dropped his icepack. Piper sighed with relief. It appeared she had been holding her breath. She grabbed some gauze from a jar and told Aerrow to grab some bandages from the drawer behind him. She wrapped the gauze and bandages around his head to close the wounds left behind. He looked like he was wearing a white sweatband. She also cleaned the blood and tears off his face with a wet cloth.

As she wiped the blood away his almond-shaped eyes fluttered open. He looked up at Piper and, for the first time, he looked like he was actually aware of his surroundings. He blinked a few times and squinted at Aerrow and Finn behind her.

"Where are my glasses?" He asked, looking around. His voice was smooth and gentle sounding. Finn and Aerrow looked around, startled. Piper blinked in surprise and took his glasses from the tray and put 

them carefully on his nose. Hikaru wiggled his nose, trying to get them into place. He looked around at the room again. He looked anxious as he flexed his hands, still held down by the straps. He looked back at the Storm Hawks, cocking his head and giving them a nervous smile.

"Where am I?"


End file.
